Indiana Hoosiers: Five things to watch for Tuesday night vs. Ohio State
By COLLIN O’CONNOR
ISL Correspondent
With Michigan’s win over Michigan State and Wisconsin’s loss to Purdue on Sunday, Indiana clinched a share of the Big Ten Championship and a shot at winning it outright if the Hoosiers are able to come away with a victory on Tuesday at home against Ohio State.
The significance of this championship is so rich after everything the program struggled through upon Tom Crean’s arrival and the loss of almost every scholarship player at Indiana. Now, a senior class that was looked upon to come in and make an impact the moment they walked on campus will be able to hoist a Big Ten Championship trophy as they depart from a school and a basketball program they helped turn around.
However, this Ohio State game on Tuesday night is not a “gimme” win as they go head-to-head with the No. 14 team in the country. Here are five things to watch for in the match-up.
1. Pace
Indiana loves to get the ball up and down the floor as shown by the Hoosiers averaging the second most possessions per game in the Big Ten, and with this generally comes a lot of points. If that is the case Tuesday, Ohio State’s offense may not be able to keep up.
Indiana scored 81 points in the first match-up of these teams this season, and that mark may be too much for Ohio State to handle if the Hoosiers are able to get up there again. If anything, those types of numbers on the scoreboard will put a lot of pressure on Deshaun Thomas, who did score 26 points against the Hoosiers in February.
2. Aaron Craft on Victor Oladipo
A match-up between a player whom some people proclaim to be one of the best defenders in the country and a player who has sky-rocketed up the Player of the Year race and the NBA Draft boards in the recent months is definitely going to be one to watch on Tuesday night.
In February, Oladipo was able to put together one of his most complete performances of the season with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. With a game like that again for Indiana’s breakout player this season, Ohio State will have a tough time coming away with a victory. It will be important for Craft to at the very least slow down Oladipo.
3. Free-throw Differential
It’s no secret that Indiana usually feasts on free throws throughout a game. With the largest free-throw rate in the Big Ten, getting to the line is one of the biggest strengths of the No. 2 team in the country. Consequently, the Buckeyes are going to have to prevent them from doing this by staying in front of each individual match-up and keeping Indiana’s penetators out of the lane as much as possible.
Those things are much easier said than done, though, so this is definitely going to be a tall task for Ohio State. Indiana won the game in February by 13 points and made 22 of 28 free-throw attempts. In doing so, the Hoosiers were also able to get Craft into foul trouble, making it much easier for its ball-handlers over the course of the game.
4. Ohio State’s 2nd and 3rd scoring options
This Buckeyes team has struggled for most of the season to find a consistent scorer behind one of the best in the Big Ten in Deshaun Thomas. It’s almost assumed that Thomas will get his numbers, but Ohio State will have to find another couple of sources for points if they plan on keeping up with this tough offense it will be matched up against on Tuesday night.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. has been the second-leading scorer for them most of the season because of his ability to shoot the ball beyond the arc, but he has proven to be inconsistent at times. Aaron Craft is someone that can be looked upon as an offensive producer, but generally he is most on defense and creating points off of turnovers.
For this team to knock off the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall, it may need a good performance from each of these two athletes.
5. The Indiana Atmosphere
It is Senior Night, and the Hoosiers have a chance to clinch the Big Ten Championship outright. With all of those factors taken into account, it should be rocking in Assembly Hall.
An always tough place to play, the atmosphere may be one of the best of the season along with the Michigan and Michigan State games. Winning a road game in the Big Ten is always a tall task, but the noise may be on another level Tuesday night, and that will make it even tougher for Ohio State to come away with a win in Bloomington.
